Inequality is something everyone faces in America, whether beneficial or detrimental towards individual lifestyles, it has become the one thing we cannot escape. Those in the upper class who benefit from the expansive wage gap are quick to say how such a great inequality does not truly exists, or how with hard work and perseverance anyone could be successful and rich. However in a time where the wage gap is greater than ever and the socio-economic divide is expanding, we can no longer ignore the fact that what was once the pillar of American society, has now crumbled and has left the lower and middle classes dealing with the rubble.
George Packer is a well known writer for the New Yorker, in an article for a 2011 issue of Foreign Affairs, …show more content…
The American system was built on the idea that it would be by the people for the people, that it would be up to the everyday people to decide and get a say in what was best for them socially, economically, democratically. Yet in spite of what was once a great cause we have since then seen America shy away from that way of operating and alternatively move towards a plutocracy, where it is the wealthy that get to decide how our nation is governed. As lobbying became more common, it likewise became more obvious that a congressman's or congresswoman's vote was no longer entirely theirs, "the Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, and the bills were popular with the public. Yet, one by one, each bill went down in defeat" (5-6). The bills proposed dealt with "establishing a new office of consumer representation", "increasing the capital gains tax", and making "it harder for employers to circumvent labor laws and block union organizing" (5). The reason these bills were not passed was due to the rise of organized money. Packer elaborates on the fact that although this system did create some big impacts on the way politics has evolved, it had not completely taken over politics, as to remove the public's voice, as demonstrated with the election of Reagan in
George Packer is a well known writer for the New Yorker, in an article for a 2011 issue of Foreign Affairs, …show more content…
The American system was built on the idea that it would be by the people for the people, that it would be up to the everyday people to decide and get a say in what was best for them socially, economically, democratically. Yet in spite of what was once a great cause we have since then seen America shy away from that way of operating and alternatively move towards a plutocracy, where it is the wealthy that get to decide how our nation is governed. As lobbying became more common, it likewise became more obvious that a congressman's or congresswoman's vote was no longer entirely theirs, "the Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, and the bills were popular with the public. Yet, one by one, each bill went down in defeat" (5-6). The bills proposed dealt with "establishing a new office of consumer representation", "increasing the capital gains tax", and making "it harder for employers to circumvent labor laws and block union organizing" (5). The reason these bills were not passed was due to the rise of organized money. Packer elaborates on the fact that although this system did create some big impacts on the way politics has evolved, it had not completely taken over politics, as to remove the public's voice, as demonstrated with the election of Reagan in